Centennial Park grant application proves elusive

Nov. 4—When it comes to obtaining documents related to the proposed Centennial Park project in the City of Niagara Falls, the case for the Niagara Gazette keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

Weeks after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development denied a formal request under the federal Freedom of Information Act for "financial" documents related to Mayor Robert Restaino's proposed $150 million "events campus," the newspaper was unable — despite months of trying — to secure from the administration a copy of a grant application to National Grid seeking funds to cover half the cost of a $140,000 feasibility study for the project.

The newspaper learned this week that while the city hired a consultant last year to compile data for the application, it was actually submitted in February by Niagara County, not the City of Niagara Falls.

The newspaper acquired a copy of the application and related documents from the county the same day a representative from Restaino's administration said the city doesn't have its own copy while suggesting the application may not actually exist.

"Neither planning nor law departments here at city hall have seen or found an 'application' to National Grid from the city," the city's Public Information Officer Aaron Ferguson wrote on Wednesday in an emailed response to questions from the newspaper. "The planning department has already responded to the (newspaper's Freedom of Information Law) request and the law department will be responding shortly. We are unsure who told you this document existed and that it was here but that isn't the case. That's why you've never received a copy."

In December, a majority of Falls city council members agreed to hire, at the request of the Restaino administration, a Buffalo-based consulting firm named Upper Edge Consulting to "compile data" for what the council resolution indicated would be the "city's application" for grant funds from National Grid to support a feasibility study for Centennial Park.

On May 15, the Gazette filed a Freedom of Information Law request, seeking a copy of the city's application. In response, the city's law office indicated that it did not have records responsive to the request while recommending that the newspaper check with the city's planning office. City Planner Kevin Forma later confirmed, following what he described as an internal review, that his department did not have the documents in question.

At no time did any city representative inform the newspaper that the application was actually submitted by Niagara County, although a city attorney did correctly note that, under state law, it is not required to do so.

In his Nov. 1 response to the newspaper's FOIL request, Corporation Counsel Chris Mazur indicated that the city is not the "custodian of any draft or copy of the application" and that FOIL does not require the city to "answer questions or interrogatories."

"Nor does the FOIL require the city to conduct an investigation of records that may be on file with outside entities," Mazur wrote.

It's not the first time the newspaper has been denied access to documents related to Centennial Park.

Last month, the federal agency HUD — after consulting with the city — denied, as part of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the newspaper, the public release of three documents containing Centennial Park "financial" information, including "financial assumptions, real estate budget and sources of funds."

In rendering its decision, HUD agreed with the city's position that the documents contained what the agency described as "confidential commercial or financial information" and, as a result, considered them exempt from release under FOIA guidelines.

Last month, the newspaper filed a separate FOIL request seeking a copy of the National Grid application from Niagara County. The county complied with the request on Oct. 30, releasing documents that show the county's Center for Economic Development submitted the application for Centennial Park feasibility funds to National Grid's Economic Development Department on Feb. 10.

Niagara County Public Information Officer Kevin Schuler confirmed that the county was asked to collaborate on the filing of the application to comply with National Grid guidelines.

"Beyond that, we had no direct involvement in the preparation of the funding application," he said.

The application requests $70,000 to cover half the cost of hiring a consultant to assess Centennial Park's feasibility. The other half of the $140,000 total cost was secured through New York's Empire State Development Corp. Funds from both sources are reimbursable, meaning the city would front the money to perform the study under an agreement that it would be reimbursed for the total cost by National Grid and the state once the work has been completed.

Four documents were submitted to National Grid along with the county's application, including a signature page signed by Niagara County Manager Rick Updegrove, a Jan. 31 project support letter signed by Restaino, a proposal and budget for a proposed economic impact study of a "potential arena" from a consulting firm called Stone Planning, LLC.

The Chicago-based consulting firm specializes in the planning of sports, entertainment and public-assembly venues. The company's background identifies work on several high-profile projects, including Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. It also lists experience in facility studies tied to various professional hockey leagues, including the NHL.

Stone Planning's proposed scope of work indicates that it would examine all operating assumptions, including number and type of events and attendance and all relevant revenues and expenses for Centennial Park. The company would also look at estimates of economic impacts, including facility revenues, visitation and event attendee origin, daily spending by non-local residents, number of hotel room nights generated and employment and income impacts.

The company indicated that, if hired, it would complete a final report on the feasibility of Centennial Park in four months from receipt of authorization to proceed.

The company lists its fee for service at $140,000, with travel-related expenses billed separately at cost.

It is unclear at this point if the Restaino administration has actually hired a consultant to perform the feasibility study or if Stone Planning has been chosen to do the work. By law, the city would need to solicit bids before hiring a consultant for the amount of funds involved in the feasibility study. It is unclear if a request for proposals has been issued in this case.

Administration officials did not respond to a series of questions about the status of the feasibility study. Restaino's administration also did not respond to questions about Upper Edge's involvement in the National Grid application process.

Ferguson, the city's public information officer, indicated that the mayor could not accommodate an interview with the newspaper this week.

The seven-page National Grid application submitted by the county outlines the purpose of doing a feasibility study for the project and includes a two-page narrative section that describes the potential benefits Centennial Park could bring to the Falls.

The "project description" portion of the grant application echoes a lot of the talking points Restaino has made since first unveiling the idea back in 2021, including that Centennial Park would boost economic activity during the winter months of the tourism season and that hockey players and supporters — at the youth, amateur and professional level — could help sustain the facility long-term.

The application also notes that in January 2017 the county's Center for Economic Development commissioned a feasibility study for a multi-purpose event facility in the Falls and that the study, completed by Minneapolis-based Conventions Sports & Leisure in January 2018, identified a multi-use "hybrid" venue as the type of entertainment space the City of Niagara Falls should pursue to "spark strategic economic investment."

The narrative suggests seasonal visitation brings "10.5 million tourists each summer" but does not "sustain the hospitality industry's downtown core during the cold winter months of the year."

In the application narrative, county officials note that the city currently has a 2,400-capacity banquet and the Niagara Falls Convention Center located on Old Falls Street. They also suggest that neither facility can accommodate a "major sporting event, for which there is an identified market (an Ontario Hockey League franchise) and neither of which can accommodate a mid-size entertainment event, for which there is an identified market (interest from promoters like Live Nation because venues of this size currently (do not) exist in the WNY region)."

"A new facility, once completed, brings hockey fans from both sides of the border to downtown Niagara Falls during the winter months, as well as additional youth hockey tournaments stimulating the region hotel stays," the narrative reads.

In his support letter accompanying the grant application, Mayor Restaino notes that while Niagara Falls is considered by many to be an "iconic destination," it has "lagged behind developing a year-round hospitality industry."

It also hints at the city's ongoing legal battle with the private firm, Niagara Falls Redevelopment. Restaino's administration initiated legal proceedings in an effort to forcibly acquire, using the city's power of eminent domain, 10 acres of NFR land off John B. Daly Boulevard for use as the future site of Centennial Park. NFR has pitched a $1.5 billion data project for the same parcel. The eminent domain case is currently under appeal.

In his letter, Restaino indicates that his administration is working to change the city's condition and has "taken actions to recapture downtown property and promote a plan to deliver year-round appeal for Niagara Falls and our hospitality industry."

"The promotion of Centennial Park and the current conceptual framework offers promise for increased workforce development, additional economic investment, and much needed housing development," Restaino wrote.